We inspire our guests to make everyday eating extraordinary.
After returning from a trip to Europe, Ray Berry and his wife Beverly were inspired to bring the charm and essence of an open, European-style food market to America. They wanted to offer a more intimate and personalized shopping experience than the warehouse-type supermarkets popular at the time.
The Berry’s poured their life savings into their dream: creating a warm and inviting shopping experience filled with the freshest produce, meats hand-trimmed by butchers in-store, fresh-cut flowers, and the finest foods and ingredients from around the world.
On March 5, 1982, the first The Fresh Market store opened in Greensboro on Lawndale Drive, where a store still stands today. Everything about this small, boutique specialty grocery store was designed to enhance the food shopping experience.
The initial 14,000-square-foot store differentiated itself from conventional supermarkets with a farmer’s market atmosphere, complete with locally-grown produce, bins of freshly roasted coffee, an old-world style butcher shop and fish market, in-store bakery, fresh cheeses and cured meats, and floral stands.
The original store became the blueprint for other locations to follow. Today, with 161 locations in 22 states, The Fresh Market is still committed to our original values of providing guests with inspiring, fresh food to make everyday eating extraordinary.
The Fresh Market is a destination for those looking to discover the best: including convenient, restaurant-quality meals, hand-picked produce, premium baked goods, fresh-cut flowers, custom-cut meats and carefully curated offerings for holidays and special occasions.
The intimate and personalized shopping experience that is still offered today is enhanced with team members who are a hallmark of The Fresh Market providing exceptional hospitality.
We're proud that USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards has recognized The Fresh Market for the third year in a row as the “Best Grocery Store in America” for 2023, while also voting us #1 in two new categories for 2023: "Best Grocery Store Bakery" and "Best Grocery Store Deli".
